Post-Abortion Group Therapy
GEORGE M. BURNELL M.D.1,
WILLIAM A. DWORSKY M.D.2, , and
ROBERT L. HARRINGTON M.D.3
1 Staff Psychiatrist, Kaiser Permanente Medical Center, 900 Kiely Blvd., Santa Clara, Calif. 95051
2 Staff Obstetrician-Gynecologist, Kaiser Permanente Medical Center, 900 Kiely Blvd., Santa Clara, Calif. 95051
3 Chief of Psychiatry, Kaiser Permanente Medical Center, 900 Kiely Blvd., Santa Clara, Calif. 95051
Two hundred fifty women who had had a therapeutic abortion attended a group therapy program after discharge from the hospital. Each group was led by a psychiatrist-gynecologist team and consisted of three to five women. The authors concluded that the program was beneficial, helping patients to cope with guilt feelings and to clear areas of misinformation about sexual function and contraception. This program also provided an opportunity to combine educational, therapeutic, and preventive aspects of gynecological and psychiatric practice.
